“Do you have any ideas?”
He tapped his hands on his knees. “Seth wants me to join his old smoke jumping unit.” He snuck a glance at her, but her focus didn’t leave the road. “Do you remember Tucker Newman? He runs an outfit in Montana now.”
“And how do you feel about that idea?”
“I don’t know. I like the idea of using my brawn for good. God made me strong for a reason. Plus, my dad was a firefighter.”
“I don’t really hear any passion in your voice when you talk about it.”
“I’m not sure what else I would do. It’s not like I have any other training.”
“I think you should work with kids. You light up when you’re around them, and you’re really helping Ben.”
“Uh, I don’t think so. I’m just a volunteer. Any permanent job would likely require a college degree, and I’m not interested in going back to school.”
They reached Duluth at last. Robin flipped the blinker on, and they drove into the lot for Diner Depot, a restaurant supply store. Its “Open” light shone from the front window, and Robin visibly relaxed. She shut the van off and turned to look at him. “Have you tried praying about it?”
He thought about the wrestling match he’d had with God a few nights ago. “Yeah. I never seem to get any answers though.”
She gave him a half smile. “We all feel like that sometimes. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
“Thanks. In the meantime, I had an idea.” They got out of the van and walked toward the store. “I’ll help out at the bakery.”
Robin stopped walking. Stared at him a moment. “But…you don’t know anything about bread. Or cake.”
“I’m a fast learner. Besides, I’ve watched you plenty of times. I’m also great at following directions.”
Say yes. You know I can do it.
Although, he didn’t know why this was so important to him.
He just couldn’t stand by and watch the woman he lo— No. It wasn’t that, not yet. But he admired her, and he wanted to see her succeed. “Pay me in cupcakes.”
“Fine, you’re on.” Robin held out a mittened hand and shook his. “Welcome to the Fox Bakery team.”
They went into the store, and Robin grabbed a basket from a stack near the door. She headed down an aisle marked Baking Supplies and stopped next to the section with yeast. He’d never seen so many choices. Robin chose several foil-wrapped packages and put them in the basket.
“As long as we’re here,” she said, “I need to grab some gel coloring for frosting. Did I tell you that I’m doing cakes for a wedding and an anniversary within two days of each other?” They walked to the food-coloring aisle, where a rainbow of tints greeted them. Robin put a tube of Grassy Knoll in the shopping basket.
“And you need green? Is it for St. Paddy’s Day?”
“Ha! No, both of them have a green-and-blue color scheme, if you can believe it. The anniversary is fifty-five years, which is emerald. And the bride has unique taste. I’ve actually got the anniversary figured out, but now I need to work on some way to display the ten dozen cupcakes for the wedding.”
“What, like a cake stand?” His mind started cataloging the wood he had available in his garage.
“I don’t know, maybe? I was thinking about something not quite so traditional.”
“I could probably make something.”
“You would do that for me?” She turned startled eyes on him.
“Sure, what are friends for?”
Right.
Friends.
Robin tossed a few more items in the basket and then paid for her order. “I’m starving,” she said. They walked side by side in the brisk air to the van. “Let’s grab dinner before heading home.”
